Tips for getting work at gold mines By ADELLA HARDING Mining Quarterly Editor
ELKO — Barrick Gold of North America and Newmont Mining Corp. have jobs to fill, and they have tips for those hoping to be hired in light of the thousands of job applications they receive. “It’s competitive and applicants have to have their ducks in a row,” said Lou Schack, director of communications and community affairs for Barrick Gold of North America. Barrick’s North American office had 216 job openings one day in February. The company received roughly 30,000 applications last year and filled roughly 1,500 jobs in 2011. Newmont received 34,000 applications in 2011, but some of them could be from individuals applying for more than one position, according to Nick Tompkins, manager of talent acquisition. “So, we had 34,000 applications and 600 jobs to fill,” he said. “The No. 1 complaint people have is with the application system,” he said,
Helen Magee, a recruiter for Barrick Gold of North America, stands with Max Mitchell of Pahrump, who was filling out a job application in mid-February at the Barrick office in Elko. Adella Harding Mining Quarterly
explaining that Newmont needs a computerized system because of the huge volume of applications. “Candidates say they never hear anything from Newmont or Barrick, but they get a response thanking them for applying.” Candidates who apply for particular
positions also will get a rejection email if they aren’t called for an interview, he said. However, those who simply apply to the general interest category won’t hear anything after the first thank you. “Typically, we interview two or three candidates for one position so there can
only be one winner,” Tompkins said. Tompkins said another track for jobseekers is to work at a mine for a temporary job agency, because they then have a better chance of getting on full time. “The point I’d like to make is we’re people too. We have a lot of empathy. All of us have had to apply for a job. We know how painful and slow it can be, but, simply, the volume of candidates can be overwhelming,” he said. The Barrick job openings range from entry level positions that include haul truck drivers, warehouse technicians and lab technicians to skilled positions that include electricians, mechanics and those that require degrees, such as mining engineers and metallurgists. “If we are looking for an entry level position, the first thing we look for is job stability — how long have you held a job. If you jump around to jobs, this doesn’t look stable,” said Barrick recruiter Helen Magee, adding that Barrick looks for at least two years on a job. See ADVICE, 50
SPRING 2012 ELKO DAILY FREE PRESS, Elko, Nevada 49